End of show handling

ABSTRACT

A content delivery system that works in a broadcast and linear content environment causing real time display of received linear content. The system limits the display of the linear content by determining a time to automatically change the display of the linear content based upon program guide information and other factors, unless a signal is or has been received from a user indicating further interest in the content.

STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority from, U.S.application Ser. No. 13/163,512, filed on Jun. 17, 2011 and now U.S.Pat. No. ______. This application also claims priority from provisionalapplication 61/360,842, filed Jul. 1, 2010.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure is generally related to content delivery systems. Morespecifically, this disclosure is related to providing a user-directed,linear content delivery system.

Live IP streaming of live events such as concerts, seminars, and otherevents has been done by services such a YouTube as well as a variety ofparties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an architectural level schematic of a system in accordancewith an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Overview

The discussion is organized as follows. First an introduction describingsome of the problems addressed by various embodiments will be presented,followed by an explanation of terminology that will be used throughoutthe discussion. Then, a high-level description of one embodiment will bediscussed at an architectural level. Next, an architectural view ofadaptive IP streaming will be presented. Then, details of algorithmsused by embodiments are discussed. Lastly, various alternativeembodiments are discussed.

Traditional systems that provide a wide array of linear content,especially live television and cable stations, together with nonlinearcontent require a significant amount of broadcast spectrum and/orinfrastructure to the home. An approach using multiple networks toprovide that breadth of content while efficiently using the broadcastspectrum has been pioneered by Sezmi Corporation, see, e.g. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/082,954 (“Networked Antenna and Transport SystemUnit” filed 14 Apr. 2008), Ser. No. 12/082,955 (“Viewer Interface for aContent Delivery System” filed 14 Apr. 2008), Ser. No. 12/131,009(“Programming Content Reconstruction in a Content Delivery System” filed30 May 2008), and Ser. No. 12/290,583 (“Remote Control Unit for aPersonalized Video Programming System” filed 31 Oct. 2008), and PCTapplication PCT/US2008/014014 (“System for Content Delivery” filed 23Dec. 2008).

As an example of the problem facing content delivery providers, if acustomer's provider has only 20-30 Mbps of broadcast spectrum and isproviding approximately 15 cable channels over that spectrum, as well asaccess to live over the air television content, how can the provideroffer a deeper line-up of content (e.g. offering more linear contentsuch as cable channels)? Adaptive IP streaming of additional linearcable channels can increase the depth of the line-up for live viewing oflinear content. Typically, adaptive IP streaming is implemented viaunicast transmission to an individual customer premises equipment (CPE)of the stream. However, adaptive IP streaming can have high bandwidthcosts for the provider. Similarly, end users may face a variety of capson their broadband connection, e.g. maximum of 250 GB/month, etc.

Accordingly, using adaptive IP streaming to deliver the linear contentof, for example, the Food Network via broadband, as opposed broadcastconnection can have implications for both parties. For the provider,typically they are facing fees based on the amount of data transmitted.For the end user, they are consuming against their bandwidth cap for themonth. Neither of those is typical in the broadcast case. Accordingly,embodiments can implement special techniques for handling the end ofshow on linear content delivered via adaptive IP streams.

In one embodiment, end users watching adaptive IP streams of linearcontent are prompted at the end of a program. The end of a program canbe determined, for example, by using electronic program guideinformation available on the customer premises equipment. By promptingthe user and requiring an affirmative action to remain “tuned” to theadaptive IP stream, both parties can benefit. The provider benefits bynot paying IP transmission fees for streaming if nobody is watching andthe end user benefits by not using up their bandwidth cap when they arenot actively watching.

Additionally, in some embodiments, information about user choices at theend of show transitions for adaptive IP streams of linear content can beused for future broadcast vs. broadband delivery decisions. For example,if Food Network was previously delivered via adaptive IP streams, butend of show data suggests end users like to leave it on in thebackground, it may be more cost effective to deliver Food Network viabroadcast. Accordingly, end of show decisions can play a part in makinggood use of available broadcast transmission capacity. The terminologythat will be used throughout this discussion will now be introduced.

Terminology

Throughout this specification the following terms will be used:

Content: Content refers to a discrete piece of audiovisual programming.Some content is composed of multiple pieces of content. One examplewould be a single 30-minute situation comedy that is a piece of contentthat, when broadcast free over the air, generally includes commercials.The commercials are themselves content. The entirety of the broadcast isalso considered a single piece of content. The intended meaning andscope of the term “content” should be apparent from the usage.

Provider: Provider refers to the entity, or entities, offering thecontent and related content delivery services to customers described byembodiments discussed herein. Providers may also offer programming. Theprovider could be an independent entity such as Sezmi Corporation, or acompany more traditionally associated with providing linear content(e.g. cable and/or satellite programming) to customers such as atelephone company, an internet service provider (ISP), a cable company,or a satellite company.

Network: The term “network” has two distinct meanings in the context ofthis subject. The first meaning refers to the term given to broadcast,cable and/or satellite content originators, e.g. NBC network, Bravonetwork, etc. The second meaning refers to a technical computer networkand the interconnection of devices via communications channels to permitcommunication between devices. Additional ambiguity can arise becauseindividuals have small scale, or local area networks (LAN) inside theirhomes. And those networks are, in turn, coupled to the broader internetvia an internet service provider (ISP). In general, the term “network”as used herein in the second sense will refer to the overall connectionbetween the provider and the customer.

Two primary networks will be discussed, the first network being anetwork controlled and established by the provider. This network willgenerally be created by the provider acquiring rights to a portion ofbroadcast spectrum for private use (for example, the Sezmi Corporationcontracting with the local San Francisco Bay Area NBC affiliate for 10Mbps of broadcast spectrum). Note that to implement this network Sezmimay make use of additional transmission media such as satellite uplinksand downlinks to communicate with that affiliate and create the networkto the customers. Similarly, WiMax, cellular, or other broadcastspectrum could be used to provide the first network. The second networkthat will be discussed is an open, public network such as the internet.The communications over the internet may be encrypted and/or tunneled;however, that does not alter the public nature of the network.

Linear Content: Linear content refers to content that an originator istransmitting to a customer such that (i) it can be received and viewedin real time; and (ii) it is not possible to jump arbitrarily forwardpast what the originator has transmitted up to that point in time. Anexample of linear content is live over the air television, e.g. watchingthe opening ceremony of the Olympics or 30 Rock live at the time of theoriginal transmission. If the customer records linear content for laterplayback (“time shifting”), when it is played back later from the fullrecording, the content is then considered nonlinear content.Notwithstanding that, some trick play capabilities for linear contentplayback (pause live TV, back up, jump forward to current point oftransmission) will not cause linear content to be considered nonlinear.

Nonlinear Content: Nonlinear content refers to content where the viewercan control the playback of the content and can jump to arbitrary pointsin the content. Examples of nonlinear content include: video on demand,podcasts, downloadable content, YouTube and similar online video sites,as well as playback of previously recorded linear content.

Broadcast and Broadcast Transmission: A broadcast transmission, orbroadcasting, refers to wide-scale single point to multiple recipientdistribution of content. A variety of transmission media can be used,e.g. television, cellular, satellite, as well as wired communications(e.g. cable or fiber.) The distinguishing characteristic of a broadcast,as opposed to a unicast, transmission is the one-to-many nature of thetransmission.

Usage note: embodiments often make use of the spectrum of broadcasters,for example an NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, fordelivering content to viewers. As such, sometimes the terms “broadcast”or “broadcast transmission” can refer to the activities of thosebroadcasters. The meaning should be apparent from the context. Forexample, in the San Francisco Bay Area, a provider contracts with thelocal NBC broadcast affiliate for broadcast spectrum to deliver 10 Mbpsof bandwidth. The provider then uses that 10 Mbps of bandwidth for thebroadcast transmission of four high-definition cable channels as linearprogramming, e.g. Bravo, Lifetime, Food Network, and Syfy networks.Those networks are linear content sent as broadcast transmissions to theviewers.

Unicast or Unicast Transmission: A unicast transmission, or unicasting,refers to point to single point distribution of content. Typically, thetransmission medium is a broadband, or high-speed, network connection.An example of a unicast transmission would be the delivery of a video ondemand purchase to a single viewer over a high-speed network such as theinternet. Some internet content delivery companies, e.g. Akamai, talk ofoffering “broadcast scale” transmissions; however, the offerings are, infact, hundreds, or millions, of unicast transmissions.

Real Time: The term “real time” has two distinct meanings in the contextof this subject. The first meaning refers to a minimal delay from anoriginal transmission until the program can be received and viewed. Forexample, a range from milliseconds to a couple of minutes in somecircumstances would still be considered real time. The acceptablewaiting time will be described in the context of the usage. These delaysoccur because the original transmission must be received, processed,retransmitted, and received by the viewer's equipment and displayed.Continuing the earlier example from above of broadcasting the Bravonetwork over the local NBC broadcast affiliate's bandwidth, it may takea few seconds for the Bravo satellite signal to be received, transcoded,encrypted, and sent back out over that local NBC broadcast affiliate toa viewer's reception equipment. Some networks may include a short tapedelay as part of a live broadcast, but this would still be considered areal time transmission.

The second meaning of “real time” refers to the suitability of a contentstream for viewing relative to when a viewer initiates a request forplayback of content and when the user can begin watching the contentcontinuously. Depending on the context and viewer expectations,different periods of delay may be acceptable. The acceptable waitingtime will be described in the context of the usage. Which of the twomeanings is intended should be apparent from the context.

Non-real time: Non-real time refers to transmissions and viewingcharacteristics that do not meet the definition(s) of real time.

System Overview

A system and processes described afford an improved way to handle theend of shows of adaptive IP streams of linear content. The system willbe described with reference to FIG. 1 showing an architectural levelschematic of a system in accordance with an embodiment. Because FIG. 1is an architectural diagram, certain details are intentionally omittedto improve the clarity of the description. The discussion of FIG. 1 willbe organized as follows. First, the elements of the figure will bedescribed followed by their interconnections. Then, the use of theelements in the system will be described in greater detail.

FIG. 1 includes a system 100. The system includes content sources 110, acontent delivery system 120, delivery methods 130, control inputs 140,delivery networks 150, and end points 160. The content sources 110include public live broadcast 111, linear cable channels 112, and ondemand content 113-115. The content delivery system 120 includes acontroller 121 and a storage 122. The delivery methods 130 includepublic live broadcast 131, private live broadcast 132, non-real timedata 133, adaptive IP streaming 134, and progressive download 135. Notethat the difference between adaptive IP streaming 134 and progressivedownload 135 generally relates to the size of the buffer (progressivedownload 135 generally uses a larger buffer) and whether or not theapproach requests different bit rates of the requested file in responseto network conditions (adaptive IP streaming 134 will request differentchunks of a piece of content at different bit rates in response tonetwork conditions, while progressive download 135 will maintain aconstant bit rate). The control inputs 140 include provider inputs 141,user requests 142, personalization 143, and ratings information 144. Thedelivery networks 150 include a network 151 and a network 152. In oneembodiment, the network 151 is a broadcast network, e.g. transmissionusing a portion of the TV, cellular, Wi-Max, etc., spectrum. In someembodiments, the network 151 may use a wired medium such as a dedicatedportion of a cable or fiber optic network. In one embodiment, thenetwork 152 is a unicast network, e.g. transmission over the internet.The end points 160 have customer premises equipment (CPE) 161-162. TheCPE 162 includes an end of show handler 181, which will be explainedinfra.

The interconnection of the elements of system 100 will now be described.The content sources 110 are coupled in communication to the contentdelivery system 120 (indicated by large triangle). The different sourcesmay arrive via different mechanisms. For example, the public livebroadcast 111 may be received using aerial antennas coupled to ATSC orother digital TV tuners. The linear cable channels 112 may be receivedvia satellite downlink or over some other communications channel, e.g.encrypted content received over the internet. The content deliverysystem 120 may itself be geographically distributed, e.g. controller 121and storage 122 are located in multiple places throughout the country ora region. For example, the public over-the-air broadcasts of SanFrancisco television stations must be received in the San Franciscoarea. However, the physical location of the primary network operationscenter of the content delivery system 120 may be in Florida. In thisembodiment, cable feeds for linear cable channels 112 might be receivedvia satellite downlink in Florida while local public live broadcasts inSan Francisco may be received locally in San Francisco. More generally,the controller 121 may be a multitude of computer systems of a varietyof types operating in conjunction and communication with one another toprovide programming services to the end points 160. Similarly, thestorage 122 may be a vast amount of data storage across a variety ofsystems and providers to store both on demand content 113-115 as well asuser requested recordings.

Note also the dotted line representing the over the air broadcast 191coupling the public live broadcast 111 to the public live broadcast 131that bypasses the content delivery system 120 en route to end points 160via network 151. This dotted line shows the standard over the airtransmission, e.g. the local NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Areareaching CPEs 161-162 if the customer can get good quality reception ofthat channel.

Continuing to describe the interconnections, the content delivery system120 can make use of a number of delivery methods 130 to distributecontent to end points 160. One delivery method is private live broadcast132 which is transmitted over network 151. One example would be sendingfour cable networks in encrypted form over a portion of the local NBCaffiliate's bandwidth in the San Francisco Bay Area. Another deliverymethod is non-real time data 133 which can be sent via either network151 or network 152. The remaining delivery methods 130 can be adaptiveIP streaming 134 and progressive download 135, both via network 152. Theprimary differences between the two were discussed, supra. The deliverynetworks 150 provide the communications channel to reach the end points160 via their CPEs 161-162. Lastly, the content delivery system 120receives a variety of control inputs 140. Some control inputs 140 comefrom the interactions of end points 160 with their CPEs 161-162. Otherscome from the operator of the content delivery system 120. Thecommunications channels for those control inputs 140 are not shown inFIG. 1.

Having described the elements and their interconnections, the use of thesystem will be described in greater detail. The system 100 allows theprovider operating the content delivery system 120 to offer a range ofservices to end points 160 via their CPEs 161-162. For example, usersmight purchase a package with the over the air channels in their areatogether with approximately 45 cable channels (linear cable channels112). Some channels could be delivered via private live broadcast 132over network 151 to the CPEs 161-162 using 20-30 Mbps of broadcastspectrum licensed from various providers such as TV, cellular, Wi-Max,etc. The remaining channels in the package can be delivered via adaptiveIP streaming 134 over network 152 to the CPEs 161-162. One capability ofthe content delivery system 120 is to switch which of the linear cablechannels 112 are provided to end points 160 via broadcast and which areprovided via IP streaming at different times of the day, week, etc.,based on the control inputs 140.

In some embodiments, the CPEs 161-162 are set top boxes, or otherdedicated hardware, with the capability to receive programming overmultiple networks simultaneously. The antennas for receiving thebroadcast signals may be integrated or separate. In other embodiments,the CPEs 161-162 are computers with an antenna and tuner. In otherembodiments, the antenna can be a network attached antenna. In stillother embodiments, the CPE may be a hybrid “PBX-like” unit servingmultiple dwellings in an apartment or residence with additional CPEequipment in each dwelling. We will focus on the CPE 162 which is a settop box with a network antenna that is operated by a remote control forthe remainder of this example.

The provider of the content delivery system 120 faces different costsdepending on which network is used. In general, the network 151 iscreated from licensed broadcast spectrum that is paid for once. Thereare minimal variable costs on network 151 depending on the amount ofdata transmitted. The network 151, also being broadcast in nature,permits greater distribution with a single transmission and has a highfixed cost. In contrast, the network 152 may have low fixed costs buthigh variable costs based on the amount of data the content deliverysystem 120 transmits or needs to transmit in unicast fashion. Forexample, to permit 10,000 viewers to watch a linear showing of “IronChef America” over network 151, approximately 1.5 Mbps of totalbandwidth is needed. In contrast to a broadcast transmission, anadaptive IP stream of “Iron Chef America” to the same number over endpoints over network 152, may have bandwidth requirements closer to10,000×1.5 Mbps.

Accordingly, control inputs 140 are used by the content delivery system120 and, in particular, by the controller 121 to determine whichdelivery methods 130 to use for which content. The provider inputs 141can include the costs and maximum capacity of the different networks,the traffic load placed on the different networks, manualscheduling/routing decisions, and the like. Similarly, ratingsinformation 144, e.g. Nielsen or Arbitron viewership information, canhelp optimize the use of the network 151. If more popular content isbroadcast, then the amount of adaptive IP streaming 134 over network 152can be reduced. Other inputs include personalization 143 and userrequests 142. Conceptually, the personalization 143 includes informationsimilar to the ratings information 144 but customized for the end points160. Further, since the content delivery system 120 may begeographically distributed, the usage of the network 151 may bedifferent in different regions. For example, if the San Francisco BayArea loves “Iron Chef America,” the Food Network may be broadcast overnetwork 151 there, while the Food Network may be adaptive IP streamed inanother region based on actual viewership habits of the provider'scustomers. The user requests 142 are requests for specific content.These may be explicit requests such as “record all new episodes of IronChef America” or implicit requests created by the CPE 162. For example,the CPE 162 includes a personalization and recommendation system thatmay have determined that user #1 of the CPE is likely to want to watch“The Sopranos” and so it should be recorded. The CPE 162 can communicatethe user requests 142 to the content delivery system 120. This canmodify the use of the networks but also permit the content deliverysystem 120 to record the linear content to the storage 122 for laterplayback on the CPE 162.

Returning to how the system 100 affords an improved way to handle theend of shows of adaptive IP streams of linear content, consider a userwatching the Food Network when it is being delivered via adaptive IPstreaming 134. The CPE 162 includes an end of show handler 181 forhandling the end of television programming boundaries of linear contentdelivered via adaptive IP streaming. Stopping the adaptive IP streamwhen nobody is watching aids the provider and the customer who may bothbe incurring consumption charges, or reaching bandwidth caps, foradaptive IP streams. In one embodiment, the computer system changes thedisplay of the adaptive IP stream at a specific transition time. In thisembodiment, the end of show handler 181 causes a notice or prompt toappear at a set time period before the specific transition time on adisplay that is in communication with the CPE 162. The notice allows auser to indicate a continued interest in the programming before thesystem stops the adaptive IP stream. For example, if a program “IronChef America” finishes airing at 10:00 pm, then as the end of show timeof 10:00 arrives, the end of show handler 181 can cause a notice to bedisplayed such as “Your program has ended, to keep watching FoodNetwork, press 1”. The notice can be displayed some set time before thespecific transition time and include a timer, e.g. 30 seconds, 1 minute,2 minutes, or even in some embodiments longer timers such as 30 minutes.If the user does not respond, the adaptive IP stream is stopped by theend of show handler 181 and the CPE 162 may switch the display, e.g. toan interactive menu or to a display of broadcast content, etc. Thenotice may partially or fully obscure the linear content, e.g. overlay,inset the content in a region of the display to make room for thenotice, etc.

In another embodiment, no notice is explicitly shown on the screen, buta timer of a set time period is started at the end of the show, e.g. adefined time such as 30 minutes. If during the timer no buttons arepressed on the remote and the specific transition time arrives, the endof show handler 181 concludes that the adaptive IP stream is not beingactively viewed and stops the stream. The length of the timer may beadaptive, e.g. based on a specific user of the CPE's 162 habits and/orother configurations. For example, if a first user of the CPE 162usually presses the remote once every ten minutes, then the timer mightbe set slightly longer than that. The timer for another user of the CPE162 might be longer if they less frequently use the remote. Thisembodiment leverages a user identification feature present in some CPEswhich provide a remote control, or other input device, with a mechanismfor user identification. In some embodiments, the per user time limitsmay be subject to a system wide cap set by the provider, e.g. 30 minutesmaximum.

In some embodiments, the end of show handler 181 may cause the CPE 162to stop displaying an adaptive IP stream closer in time to the end of ashow, (e.g. a shorter set time period) but allow the stream to continueto be transmitted and buffered for some defined time period. In thisembodiment, when the program ends the end of show handler 181 mightcause the CPE 162 to switch to an interactive menu, or other display,but continue to buffer the stream for a period of time beforeterminating the stream.

More generally, the end of show handler 181 can be implemented as one ormore software programs and/or libraries that, inter alia, use availableprogram guide information. The program guide information can includeelectronic program guide information retrieved, downloaded, and/orpushed from the content delivery system 120 to determine programboundaries in linear content. The end of show handler 181 may useinformation in the program guide such as the type of event for adaptivepurposes. For example, live events and sports programming delivered viaadaptive IP streams might be treated as ending later than the programguide indicates. For example, a baseball game scheduled to air from8:00-10:00 pm might actually continue airing for another thirty-sixtyminutes. The end of show handler 181 may treat live events such assporting events as having additional time, e.g. extra X minutes, so thatthe specific transition time is moved along with any correspondingnotices and timers, e.g. 10:30 pm in the case of an extra 30 minutes forsporting events.

Summarizing, the architecture of system 100 and the components andmechanism through which it provides an improved way to handle the end ofshows of adaptive IP streams of linear content has been discussed.

CONCLUSION AND ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

We have now described a system and processes that an improved way tohandle the end of shows of adaptive IP streams of linear content. Thesystem decreases the streaming bandwidth requirements that would benecessary for broadband delivery of adaptive IP streams of linearcontent. Additional embodiments will now be discussed.

Although the discussion has focused on adaptive IP streams, thetechniques discussed can be applied to any form linear programmingdelivered by IP streams.

Any data structures and code described or referenced, supra, are storedaccording to many embodiments on a computer-readable storage medium,which may be any device or medium that can store code and/or data foruse by a computer system. This includes, but is not limited to, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), magnetic and opticalstorage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact discs),DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), or other mediacapable of storing computer-readable media now known or later developed.

The preceding description is presented to enable the making and use ofthe invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments willbe apparent, and the general principles defined herein may be applied toother embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not intended to belimited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The scopeof the invention is defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented on a computer system todisplay a linear content, comprising: receiving program guideinformation associated with the linear content, the program guideinformation including program boundary information for the linearcontent; receiving the linear content via IP streaming; causing displayof the received linear content, in real time with respect to thereceiving, on a display in communication with the computer system; anddetermining if a specific transition time has been reached, and ifreached, automatically stopping the display of linear content unless asignal is or has been received from a user by the computer system withina set time period before the specific transition time; wherein thesignal is received from the user without the computer systemtransmitting any notice that user input is necessary to avoid stoppageof the display.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the specific transitiontime is a program end time.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein thespecific transition time is a defined time after a program end time. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein the computer system buffers the IP streamfor a defined time after display of linear content is stopped.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying an interactive menu onthe display after stopping the display of the linear content, whereinthe interactive menu enables the user to select from option includingcontinuing to display the selected linear content, and displaying otherlinear content.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the set time period isadaptable based on the identity of a user, and further comprising thesteps of identifying a user, storing user activity in the computersystem per user, and selecting the set time period for content displayedto the user based on that user's past activity.
 7. A computer systemconfigured to display a linear content, comprising: a receiverconfigured to receive program guide information associated with thelinear content and to receive the linear content via IP streaming; theprogram guide information comprising program boundary information forthe linear content; the computer system being configured to causedisplay of the received linear content in real time with respect to thereceiving of the linear content, the displaying being on a display incommunication with the computer system; an end of show handler moduleconfigured to determine if a specific transition time has been reached,and if reached, to automatically cause the display of linear content tostop unless a signal is or has been received from a user by the computersystem within a set time period of the program end time; and wherein theend of show handler is further configured to display an interactive menuon the display after stopping the streaming of the linear content, theinteractive menu enabling the user to select from options comprisingcontinuing to display the selected linear content.
 8. The system ofclaim 7 wherein the specific transition time is the program end time ora defined time after the program end time.
 9. The system of claim 7wherein the computer system is further configured to buffer the IPstream for a defined time after displaying the interactive menu.
 10. Thesystem of claim 7 wherein the set time period is adaptable based on anidentity of a user, wherein the computer system identifies a user,stores user activity information per user, and sets the set time periodfor at least one content item displayed to the user based on useractivity for that user.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the programguide information comprises information about the type of program beingstreamed and a scheduled end time for the program being streamed; themethod further comprising selecting a specific transition time which islater than the scheduled end time when the program is a live event. 12.A method of end of show handling comprising: (a) receiving anddisplaying content consisting of at least one program on a customerpremises equipment, the customer premises equipment having an end ofshow handler and a display screen; (b) determining a specific transitiontime for the content; (c) monitoring whether a user signal is or is notreceived by the customer premises equipment during a set time periodbefore the specific transition time; (d) changing the display of thecontent on the customer premises equipment at the specific transitiontime if the customer premises equipment does not receive a user signalwithin the set time period; and (e) setting a system-wide maximum timelimit on all set time periods stored in the customer premises equipment,wherein set time periods used with the method are never longer than thesystem-wide maximum time limit.
 13. The method of end of show handlingof claim 12 wherein the content is an IP stream of linear content andthe changing of the display of the content comprises switching thedisplay to a broadcast content.
 14. The method of end of show handlingof claim 12 further comprising storing user activity information in thecustomer premises equipment, identifying a user of the customer premisesequipment, and determining the set time period based on the useractivity information for the identified user.
 15. The method of end ofshow handling of claim 12 further comprising receiving program guideinformation for the content at the customer premises equipment anddetermining the specific transition time based on the program guideinformation.
 16. The method of end of show handling of claim 12 whereinthe program guide information includes at least a program end time andan indication of whether the program is a live event; the method furthercomprising determining a specific transition time after the program endtime when the program is a live event.
 17. The method of end of showhandling of claim 12 wherein the specific transition time is the end ofthe program.
 18. The method of end of show handling of claim 12 whereinthe specific transition time is a defined time after the end of theprogram.
 19. The method of end of show handling of claim 12, furthercomprising terminating the receiving and displaying of content, inaddition to said changing the display of the content, at the specifictransition time if the customer premises equipment does not receive auser signal within the set time period.
 20. The method of claim 12,wherein the computer system buffers the IP stream for a defined timeafter the display is changed at the specific transition time.